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| Cherry blossoms signal the beginning of spring. |
The sheer level of energy is the most striking aspect of Japan's capital city. While it's true the city has a somewhat depressing shortcoming- shoebox housing estates and office blocks traversed by overhead expressways crowded with traffic - Tokyo remains1 a glittering example of the 'miracle' of post-WWII Japan. Despite mega-construction, the average Tokyo suburb hasn't fallen prey2 to supermarket culture yet: streets are lined with tiny specialist shops and bustling3 restaurants, most of which stay open late into the night. Close to the soaring office blocks exist pockets of another Tokyo - an old wooden house, a Japanese inn, an old lady in a kimono （和服）sweeping4 the pavement outside her home with a straw broom. More than anything else, Tokyo is a place where the urgent rhythms of consumer culture collide with the quieter moments that linger from older traditions.
Major attractions in Tokyo:
Imperial Palace :The Japanese emperor and the imperial family still call the Imperial Palace home, so unless you get a royal invite to tea tourists are restricted to the outskirts5 and the gardens. New Year's Day (2 January) and 23 December (the Emperor's birthday) are the only exceptions to this rule.
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| Ginza is home to some of Tokyo's ritziest nightlife. |
Ginza（银座）:Despite its disaster-ridden history and propensity6 for shape-changing, Ginza has become synonymous with conspicuous7 consumption and excessive shopping. At the end of the 19th century, after fire razed8 it to the ground, it was ressurected with brick buildings and wide boulevards that mimicked9（模仿） the Champs Elysses.
Shinjuku （新宿）:The Shinjuku district is, without doubt, the most vigorous part of Tokyo; two million people per day pass through Shinjuku station alone. The two sides - east and west - sit side-by-side in mutual10 harmony; west Shinjuku is the staid commercial hub of the city, while the east is its colourful and exotic （异国情调的；奇特的）counterpart. The west is planned, administrative11 and skyscrapped, while the east side is rambling12 （杂乱的）, chaotic13 and full of fast-food shops and pawn14 shops.
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